I arrived back in Taiwan about a week ago, and things were going very smoothly until yesterday morning. I woke up coughing and very quickly was forced to use my asthma inhaler. I was supposed to have an Erhu lesson (chinese two-string violin) at 4 PM and was very excited about this, as it would be my first lesson in an instrument I've wanted to learn for more than 5 years! But the 5 minute walk to the bus stop exhausted me so much that I had to call my teacher and cancel.
I spent the rest of the day indoors, coughing, sneezing, and hiding under my blankets. This morning, the ickiness continued. Thus, this evening, after a dinner of hot and spicy soup, two of my friends escorted me to the National Health Insurance clinic.
Having previous lived in India, I was apprehensive to say the least. I remember one doctor in India, when I asked a reasonable question regarding antibiotic dosage, he yelled at me "Are you a doctor?" and proceeded to prescribe completely inappropriate medicines.
Fortunately, Taiwan isn't like that. Although there was a slight language barrier, with the help of my friends we accurately described my symptoms. He checked my throat, lungs, temperature and a few other things, asked some questions and made a very reasonable diagnosis. Asked me some more question about medications and medical history and then prescribed a series of medicines. When I asked a question about one medicine and possible interference with another medicine, he intelligently answered my question and made it clear that there wouldn't be any problem.
At the end of the day, the cost was around $20 for a medical check up and several prescriptions.
All in all, as much as it sucks being sick, it's not too bad being sick in Taiwan.
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